Traikov on CNBC: Euro Zone Will Survive, Bulgaria Wants In

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Traicho Traikov believes the euro zone will survive the debt crisis. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria still wants to join the euro zone despite recent predictions that the single currency will collapse, Traicho Traikov, Bulgaria's Economy Minister, told CNBC on Thursday.

"I know now it's fashionable to predict the end of the monetary union, but I think common sense will still dominate and it is going to survive. Of course, in the end we want to be a part of it," Traikov said.

"Ever since we introduced a currency board in 1997, our focus has been on keeping the fundamentals right, so we ran government surpluses for most of these years," he explained.

"For us, being a part of the euro zone means lower interest rates on credits for business," Traikov said.

CNBC points out that Bulgaria is the poorest EU member state but that its "tough reforms" have helped it achieve one of the smallest debt to gross domestic product ratios in the European Union and a budget deficit of around the Maastricht-agreed 3% of GDP ceiling.

The US TV further stresses the fact that Bulgaria has the lowest corporate tax in the EU at 10%, and that the government in Sofia remains firmly opposed to the introduction of a single tax rate in the euro zone even as Germany has proposed greater fiscal integration within the euro zone in order to avoid a situation where prudent countries end up paying for the profligate.

"For us, coordinated fiscal policy does not include coordinated tax policy," Bulgaria's Economy Minister told CNBC.

Bulgarians suffered for years in order to bring their economy in order and ensure that the country has low debt and a narrow budget deficit, he added.

"It didn't fall from the sky overnight; we paid for it with years and years of austerity and fiscal discipline," Traikov said.

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